Report...November 7, 2007

November is finally upon us, an early Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who reads my report this month. So far this year I've put in over 200+ days on the water which has yielded some fantastic accomplishments, trophy catches, and happy clients...but that doesn't mean our fishing season is over or there isn't some quality fishing still to come as 2007 comes winds to an end. The main targets for the remainder of 2007 which shape up like this:

Redfish. 5-10lb redfish are back to being a staple of our daily fishing. Right now these fish are also gorging themselves on final stages of the fall bait run. The mangrove backcountry, oyster bars, and the lagoons grassflats are all on the list of potential fishing hot spots for redfish. As the water temps also drop (as of this week it's in the low 70's) we'll begin to see fish starting to form typical winter size schools. We'll also find a bite that lasts throughout the day. It's definitely a favorite time of the year for me to fish these redfish, as some of the best sight fishing will take place now through the rest of the year, as the water turns crystal clear and we find lots of "tailing" fish later in the day. Fly fishing opportunties will also be plentiful yielding some furious fights on 6-8wts.

Spotted sea trout. Fishing for speckled trout will also be a hot target the remainder of the year. Just like above, trout are filling their bellies on the fall bait run before it's over. Spoil islands, oyster bars, and bar edges have all been prime spots to be working topwater plugs, soft plastics, and live finger mullet. As the water clears up, sight fishing will improve for chances at giant trophy trout. As the water continually cools through the end of the year, the opportunities to come across schools of trout will improve. If the tides are right, trout fishing at night around docklights will be unbelievable. (One night this week we caught 40+ trout at the lights.) And of course that also raises the chances for catching quality snook...

Snook. The rest of they year is prime time for snook. While we certainly don't have the snook numbers foundout in Southwest Florida, a string of warm winters has left us with a decent local snook population. And right now, they are all gorging themselves to prepare for the winter ahead. We're finding generally consistent action on the right tides, and the average fish have been running between 2-10lbs, but break offs are letting some real brutes escape coming aboard the boat. Early morning, late evening and night fishing is preferred for catching quality snook. It's generally been a live-bait affair, but plugs are also a good bet. In about a month or so, most of the adult snook will retreat to deep winter hideouts to hopefully ride out the approaching winter.

While tarpon fishing is over for the year, I still found one more late in October willing to take a fly. A well placed toad fly produced a 100-125lb tarpon, which I landed in about 45 minutes, a mere 1.5 miles away from where I hooked her. She was my biggest tarpon I landed this year on fly, so it was a fitting end to a tarpon season that was nothing short of amazing. A quick picture boatside is below.

I'll be taking a couple days off around Thanksgiving to make a quick trip north of the Mason-Dixon line for some whitetail deer hunting. Then duck season is open upon my return which puts "blast-n-cast" back into the schedule. Nothing better than some time in the woods and marsh for end of year hunting and fishing. Give me a call, I'd very much enjoy the pleasure of fishing with you before 2007 is over. 386-212-4931